A 12-year-old girl told authorities a man tried to abduct her Thursday night in front of her home, according to the Burke County Sheriff’s Office.

The man drove off when the girl ran screaming back toward her house, authorities said.

The alleged incident took place about 6:30 p.m. on Willowtree Church Road, off N.C. 181. That is a few miles north of Morganton.

The girl told deputies that she had walked out to the family’s mailbox when a white car stopped in the road. She said a man in the car asked if she wanted a ride. The girl told deputies that she saw what appeared to be a gun in the front seat of the car.

Deputies ask that anyone who saw a white car driven by a man in that area Thursday night call the sheriff’s office at 828-438-5500.